First round of stimulus went to pay off household debt. The next round would give households some disposable income... not enough unfortunately. Obama's proposed job's bill is about half of what is required.﻿

The problem is simple: supply shock of cheap (and increasingly skilled) labor overseas. Virtually no tradable jobs are created in the US because it doesn't make sense. I hate to admit it, but that's why I'm out of work: globalization is the new normal.

The sooner Americans admit that they're not magically entitled to a job, or more money than a Chinese, the sooner we can move on with things that are good for business.

Most Americans were grossly overpaid for decades. Those days are over. Capitalism happened, and it will keep happening.

The only question is whether lazy liberals will keep sucking the teat of unemployment while Rome burns. I'm proud that I'm not making the problem worse.﻿

It pains me to see so many Americans curse the name of capitalism, the same which created our middle class and gave us the highest standard of living in the world. How small indeed is their faith, when the slightest adversity can turn it.﻿

Trouble is that they're mis-naming the problem. There are capitalists, and there are mercantilists. The capitalists compete in a free market. The mercantilists profit from special privileges created by governments. We need to get more people using the word mercantilism, because there are far too many of them not to be named correctly.﻿

+Kurt Mayer: We're not likely at all to develop our own energy resources when Obama's minions put insurmountable roadblocks in the way.

As fo spending money, no corporation is going to do that as long as there's a likelihood that they'll need that money to deal with the next overbearing government regulation Obama's minions come up with.﻿

+Kurt Mayer Your use of the term "supply side" to discuss corporations is not really accurate. Everyone -- companies and individuals alike -- is a supplier and everyone -- companies and individuals alike -- is a consumer. Individuals supply their skills and talent and companies consume them. Companies supply goods and services -- and consumers and companies consume them. The services you supply your employer are valuable enough for them to pay you for them. The goods and services you purchase from companies and other individuals are valuable enough for you to pay them for them. In a capitalist society, everyone works for mutual benefit. It is not us vs. them.﻿

+Russell Nelson The problem is that when politicians are for sale, a capitalist who doesn't buy politicians is at a disadvantage to a capitalist who does buy politicians -- a mercantilist is merely a capitalist who invests some of his capital in politicians...﻿

+Patrick Maupin If only it were that simple. What about the capitalists who are politicians? What about the politicans who are capitalists? What happens when the line between capitalists and politicians is not fuzzy, but practically non-existant?﻿

Actually, it almost really is that simple. Bought-and-paid-for regulation is a huge problem. I think we should outlaw most, perhaps all, regulation and government-initiated "civil" litigation (which in most cases is quite uncivil). If something is important enough to society, it should be a crime, not a civil matter, and the alleged perpetrator should be granted a speedy trial with a full jury.

Leave the civil stuff for non-governmental disputes. It's not just the patent trolls and the RIAA who figured out that they can set a settlement price slightly less than the cost of fighting a lawsuit. The government figured this out, too, and routinely "sues" cash that happened to be in somebody's pocket. They have an even bigger hammer than the private actors -- "we can always try you for a crime."

Well, if they have a case that the cash was ill-gotten gains, they should try the possessor for a crime. If not, they should go away empty handed. Giving them this leverage that allows them to prove they really can harrass everybody, simply because most people will roll over and the people who fight are in the minority, is not actually helpful to society.﻿